Cloned red meat could hit British supermaket shelves in just two years,
according to scientists linked with Dolly the sheep.

And American authorities are expected to approve meat from offspring
of cloned livestock being sold before the end of the year - without
any extra labelling.

The move raises the prospect of British tourists in the US being served
such meat without knowing.

"Labelling needs to be handled very carefully, as public acceptance
is key to this technology," said Chris Warkup of Genesis Faraday,
a governmentfunded research institute based at the Roslin Institute,
where Dolly the sheep was created.

"Thousands of UK tourists will be eating cloned meat at McDonald's
when they are on holiday in America within two to three years, whether
they know it or not," he said.

"But there are some real consumer benefits to this. Hypothetically
we could, for instance, create cows that produce more milk, live longer
and are more environmentally friendly, producing less methane."

Experts plan to clone animals that are the top 0.5 per cent of breeding
stock and then to farm their offspring commercially as meat. But it
is likely to be two years before a full decision is made.

Professor Keith Campbell, of the University of Nottingham, who worked
on the original Dolly research, said he was in favour of the cloned
meat getting the go-ahead. "Cloning is just another technique.
And we will not be eating cloned animals as such, but their offspring."

EU discussions over the issue have just begun and are expected to take
up to two years before a decision is reached.

But animal welfare groups and food safety organisations have opposed
cloning, saying it poses unnecessary risks to the animals, and humans
that consume the produce.

Lord Melchett, policy chief of the Soil Association, said the prospect
of cloned meat entering the food chain would "horrify" British
consumers.

He said: "I cannot think of anything more likely to destroy the
public's confidence in British food."

However, the pro-cloning lobby has argued that cloning could help animals
develop a resistance to diseases such as foot and mouth.

Experts have said that it will be inevitable that Britons will be consuming
meat from cloned animals by the end of the decade as the practice becomes
more common.

• Scientists have been told to find a way to cut methane emissions
from cows and sheep. Livestock account for a quarter of the harmful
greenhouse gas methane released into Britain's atmosphere. Most of the
gas escapes through belching so scientists must find cows a diet that
causes less wind.